The 12th Man

Let’s take ourselves back to lockdown football. After months of anticipation, the Premier League returned to the screens.

The excitement was real, but without the fans, the players couldn’t feel it. There was no atmosphere; no buzz. If I sat close enough to the screen, I would’ve thought I was at my local. All be it, slightly better quality.  

In order to understand the importance of fan atmosphere, we have to look at home and away records. Take Newcastle United for example. A team that floats up and down the table quite consistently.

Newcastle’s final place in the table since the 2020/21 season and the 2023/24 season has drifted from 12th to fourth and places in between. In the 23/24 season, Newcastle finished seventh, just missing out on European football. Looking more closely at the table, you’ll see the importance of fan presence.

If you take only home games into account, Newcastle would’ve finished 4th in the table, only registering 3 losses at home the whole season. Take them away from St James Park, they would’ve finished 11th. They lost 11/19 games away from home, a stark comparison to their home presence. This can be highly accredited to the fans. Newcastle have a loyal fanbase, with an intimidating stadium presence. It makes them very hard to beat under the northern floodlights.

Similar can be said for Liverpool FC. In the same season, the reds registered only one loss at home. Anfield was a fortress, and the fans were their warriors. Away from home, although they maintained a good win record, they would’ve finished third. SportBible released a study, investigating the Premier League stadiums with the best atmosphere. Anfield ranked first, joined alongside Goodison Park, home of Merseyside rivals Everton.

Fan presence and their enthusiasm matters. Teams perform better when backed by their fans. Without the fans, it just wouldn’t be the same. Fans spur their players on, they encourage them to push on and fight for the badge. There may be 11 players on each team, but the 12th player accounts for thousands. Fans are the 12th man, they do everything the players themselves cannot. They are football.